Republican Matt Van Epps Wins Tennessee Special Election
State of the Union: Van Epps won the House seat after a race fueled by outside spending and Trump’s support.
The Republican Matt Van Epps, a military veteran and former state general services commissioner, won the special election for Tennessee’s Seventh Congressional District last night.
The Trump-endorsed candidate defeated the Democrat Aftyn Behn by about 9 percentage points. The seat was previously held by the Republican Mark Green, who resigned earlier this year. Green won the district by 21 points in 2024. Trump carried the district by 22 points.
Federal Election Commission filings show that outside groups poured more than $6.5 million into the race, including roughly $1.6 million from the MAGA Inc. super PAC.
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On election night Trump posted on Truth Social that the race was a “BIG Congressional WIN” and said “The Radical Left Democrats threw everything at him, including Millions of Dollars.”
At his victory party, Van Epps said, “Politicians who run from the president or abandon the common sense policies that the American people gave us a resounding mandate on do so at their own peril.”
He added, “This is President Trump’s party. I’m proud to be a part of it and can’t wait to get to work.”
